OPD: Man arrested after acknowledging on Facebook that he molested child

Published: Friday, April 19, 2013 at 10:52 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 19, 2013 at 10:52 a.m.

OCALA - A 36-year-old man arrested Thursday by an Ocala police detective for sexual battery on a child younger than 12 was arrested Friday by a Marion County Sheriff’s Office detective for another sexual offense on a different victim.

Ocala police said the victim in the first case, now a teenager, told an official at the Kimberly’s Center for Child Protection that when she was about 4 or 5 she was molested by Mark L. Franklin. In a Facebook chat with Franklin, she asked him about the incident and he told her he prayed for forgiveness and was no longer a monster and was now a better person, according to reports.

On Thursday, Officer Joe Kelly saw Franklin at a park in northwest Ocala and took him to the police department for questioning. Franklin told Fernandez about the Facebook posting but denied molesting the girl. Franklin was arrested and was taken to the Marion County Jail.

On Friday, MCSO Detective Bobby Levay charged Franklin with two counts of sexual battery stemming from a 2005 case in which Franklin allegedly molested a girl several times from when she was about 2 or 3 until she was in seventh grade. Levay said Franklin was about 14 or 15 at the time of the first reported incidents and that when the victim was in the seventh grade, he was about 26.

<p>OCALA - A 36-year-old man arrested Thursday by an Ocala police detective for sexual battery on a child younger than 12 was arrested Friday by a Marion County Sheriff's Office detective for another sexual offense on a different victim.</p><p>Ocala police said the victim in the first case, now a teenager, told an official at the Kimberly's Center for Child Protection that when she was about 4 or 5 she was molested by Mark L. Franklin. In a Facebook chat with Franklin, she asked him about the incident and he told her he prayed for forgiveness and was no longer a monster and was now a better person, according to reports.</p><p>Detective Jorge Fernandez developed probable cause for Franklin's arrest.</p><p>On Thursday, Officer Joe Kelly saw Franklin at a park in northwest Ocala and took him to the police department for questioning. Franklin told Fernandez about the Facebook posting but denied molesting the girl. Franklin was arrested and was taken to the Marion County Jail.</p><p>On Friday, MCSO Detective Bobby Levay charged Franklin with two counts of sexual battery stemming from a 2005 case in which Franklin allegedly molested a girl several times from when she was about 2 or 3 until she was in seventh grade. Levay said Franklin was about 14 or 15 at the time of the first reported incidents and that when the victim was in the seventh grade, he was about 26.</p><p>Franklin denied the allegations.</p>